3 months
by SayaEvange
Summary: Corinne's a recent grad just waiting for someone to give her a chance. After a few months, a bored sounding receptionist calls letting her know Mr. DiLaurentis wants to meet with her. A five hour drive and one peculiar interview later, Corinne's got the job...on a 3 month trial basis. She up to the challenge, but will her feelings for the handsome young boss get in the way?


"Please have a seat. Mr. Dilaurentis will be with you shortly," the model thin receptionist said, her Louboutins clicking against the smooth stone as she headed back to her desk, leaving me alone in the office.

I shifted in the stuffed leather chair. The three months since graduation had been their own kind of hell. I had the education everyone said they wanted, but even with the experience I had gained through part-time jobs and volunteering I somehow didn't have that magical amount of experience to be given a chance. After almost 200 submitted resumes and cover letters here I was, a five hour drive from home, sitting in the office of the first person to even offer me an interview.

I squeezed my hands together and tried to steady my breathing. I couldn't afford to screw this job up.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," a strong voice sounded from the doorway. I stood up as he walked around to the other side of the desk. "I swear I'm not usually late, but my meeting ran long." He shuffled through some papers on his desk. "I know I had your resume here…"

"Oh, that's alright. Here, I brought a copy just in case." I reached into my bag and handed him my resume. As he took it, he finally looked up at me and smiled. He had dark circles under his green eyes, but it didn't take away from his handsome features.

"Thank you…" He glanced at the header. "Corinne. It's nice to finally meet you." He held out his hand and I shook it. "I'm Jason."

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. I appreciate the opportunity."

He smiled and let out a short laugh. "Take a breath and relax. And please, have a seat. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

I nodded and sat back down. He did the same, setting my resume right in front of him. "I-I'll try, sir."

He waved his hand. "No sir. No Mr. anything. I'm just Jason, okay?"

"Umm, okay." Get it together, I scolded myself.

"Don't think of this as an interview. It's more of a getting to know you thing."

"Like a first date."

He grinned, his eyes smiling along. "Yeah, I guess it is like a first date. Except instead of trying to get you in bed I'm trying to see if we can work together."

"Do you usually try to get girls in bed on the first date?" The heat rose to my cheeks almost instantly. "I-I'm so sorry. That's a totally inappropriate thing to say."

He laughed and wrote something on the paper. "I led you to it. Sorry. Well then, I do have a few questions."

"Yes?"

"Your name is pronounced Core-inn, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but I usually go by Cori."

He scribbled Cori on the top of my resume. "It says here that you studied at Public Relations at Winthrop University. Is there a reason you chose there?"

"Well, I knew I wanted to be away from home and I just kind of fell in love with the place during my visit. Plus my dads loved that it was a small school with solid academics."

He raised a brow. "Your dads?"

"Oh, yeah, I raised by two dads." My heart pounded. Even in an increasingly liberal society, explaining that I was raised by two gay men wasn't always well received.

"Hmm, well, I'm sure it still wasn't easy for them to let you go that far from home. You're from Virginia, right?"

I let out a small sigh and smiled. "Yeah, Williamsburg. My one dad works as a historical re-enactor."

He marked something down. "You know, I've never been there, but I've thought about going."

"Oh, you should definitely make the trip," I started, finally feeling myself relax. "It's a great little town. There's a lot to see and do. If you want I can make you a list of the best places so you know where to go."

He grinned. "I hope you can get as excited about this real estate business as you do your hometown."

I blushed again. "Uh, I was wondering something about that."

"Yes?"

"Well, why are you looking for a full-time PR person when you have such a small business? Why not just hire a part-time consultant?"

He put the pen down and looked at me carefully, a small smile still on his lips. "Didn't anyone ever tell you you're supposed to be convincing me to hire you; not trying to make me rethink the necessity of the position altogether?"

"Umm, well, it's just…I-I don't think you should, umm, pay for a job you might not need. I-it wouldn't make good business sense." I twisted my hands. Months of job hunting and here I am trying to screw up the only interview I've been called in for.

"You're right, but you see, I'm planning on expanding into other markets. I recently had the opportunity to sell a friend's place in Philadelphia and it made me realize just how lucrative breaking into that market could be. That's why I want to hire someone to do some public relations work. Maybe hold an event or two to get the name out there. It's my hope that I'll be able to open another office in the city in a year."

"That's an ambitious plan."

He nodded. "I figured it would be easier with someone's help."

The ideas were already swirling in my head. "I'm not fully aware of who your core clients are, but considering your age it would probably be a good idea to make a push for Millennials. We could work out a social media plan directly targeting them and supplement it with some traditional media so you're not excluding the older generations. The campaign should run for three or four weeks before we get into the event. Maybe make it a "Welcome to Philly" kind of thing. I'm still trying to piece that together, but I'm sure we…" I trailed off as I noticed the amused look on his face. "Umm, sorry."

"Don't be. It shows me your passionate about this work." He looked down at my resume, silent for a few moments as if he was contemplating something. "Listen, you're young and don't have a lot of substantial work experience."

My stomach dropped. I tried my best to keep a polite smile on my face, but inside I just wanted to break down and cry.

He looked back up at me, gently smiling. "But you're eager and I think we can work well together. That's why I want to offer you this job."

My jaw dropped. "Are-umm…thank you!"

He raised a hand to stop me. "Before you get too excited this is going to be on a trial basis. I want to make sure your passion is more than just talk. So I want you to plan and execute a three-month campaign to help me gain territory. If I'm happy with the outcome then it'll become a permanent position. Does that sound alright to you?"

"Oh yes, thank you. You won't be disappointed." I stood up and shook his hand. There was no concealing my excitement or the stupid smile plastered on my face.

He laughed. "I look forward to working with you. Why don't you come in tomorrow morning and we can get to work on the campaign."

I nodded. "I'll be here at eight."

"Unless you want to wait outside for an hour, I'd suggest being here at nine."

"Nine it is. Thank you again, I really appreciate this opportunity." In that moment I realize that my hand was still grasping his, but we'd long since stopped shaking hands. I could feel my cheeks heating up for what felt like the hundredth time, but if he noticed he didn't show it.

"See you tomorrow then."


End file.
